United Overseas Bank

United Overseas Bank Limited
Company typePublic
SGX: U11
IndustryFinancial services
Founded6 August 1935; 89 years ago (1935-08-06)
FounderWee Kheng Chiang
HeadquartersUOB Plaza,
80 Raffles Place
,
Singapore 048624
Area served
Southeast Asia, Hong Kong and China
Key people
RevenueS$8.061 billion (2016)[1]
S$3.096 billion (2016)[1]
Total assetsUS$334.09 billion (2021)[2]
Number of employees
24,853 (2016)[1]
RatingS&P: AA−[3]
Websitewww.uobgroup.com

United Overseas Bank Limited (simplified Chinese: 大华银行有限公司; traditional Chinese: 大華銀行有限公司; pinyin: Dàhuá Yínháng Yǒuxìan Gōngsī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tāi-hôa Gûn-hâng Iú-hān Kong-si), often known as UOB, is a Singaporean regional bank headquartered at Raffles Place, Singapore, with branches mostly found in Southeast Asia countries.

It is one of the three "big local banks" in the country, the other two being DBS Bank and Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation (OCBC).

First Founded during the Great Depression in 1935 as United Chinese Bank (UCB) by a group of Hoklo businessmen including Sarawak-born Wee Kheng Chiang,[4][5] the bank operated from a single branch bank in rented premises of Bonham Building, located in Boat Quay, close to the Singapore River. It was principally engaged in short-term loans to a segment of local businessmen, to be precise, Hokkien Chinese businessmen in Singapore.[6]

UOB is the third largest bank in Southeast Asia by total assets.[7] The bank provides personal financial services, commercial banking, private banking and asset management services, as well as corporate finance, venture capital and insurance services. It has 68 branches in Singapore and a network of more than 500 offices in 19 countries and territories in Asia Pacific, Western Europe and North America.[8]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference UOB Annual Report 2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "The World's Biggest Public Companies". Forbes. Archived from the original on 30 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2017.
  3. ^ Boon, Rachael (21 June 2016). "DBS, OCBC, UOB get AA- credit rating from S&P". The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 26 March 2017.
  4. ^ "S'pore tycoon and former UOB chairman Wee Cho Yaw dies at 95". The Straits Times. 3 February 2024. Archived from the original on 3 February 2024. Retrieved 3 February 2024.
  5. ^ "Shaping ASEAN's financial landscape: A conversation with Wee Ee Cheong, CEO of UOB". The Asian Banker. 22 September 2023. Archived from the original on 1 December 2023. Retrieved 3 December 2023.
  6. ^ "PM Lee Hsien Loong at the 80th Anniversary Celebrations of the United Overseas Bank (UOB) on 12 November 2015". Prime Minister's Office Singapore. 12 November 2015. Archived from the original on 25 August 2022. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  7. ^ "ForbesG2000". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2 October 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  8. ^ "About UOB". UOB Group. Archived from the original on 14 January 2024. Retrieved 23 December 2023.